STOP is not funded by General Mills. If you follow the money, you'll find that Minneapolis citizens fund it, through taxes paid by you and your neighbors. All funding for STOP comes from the Fiscal 05 Police Budget. It is not a program, but a deployment of resources (personnel). It is designed to be flexible and mobile, to provide police services throughout the city as needed.
You may have issues with the assigned personnel; the tactics used, or even the overall concept; to reduce violent crime in impacted neighborhoods. But running Mr. Terrill's comments, other community leaders, and Homeland Security into the structure and function of STOP is mixing apples and oranges together and calling them bananas. There are no funds via Homeland Security to combat gang or inter-city violence. Check. During the Clinton years and early in Presidents Bush's first term, there were, in fact, Federal Funds that went to supplement the police industry and its mission. Since 9-11, those funds have been diverted to Homeland Security. General Mills is funding research conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). Mr. Wexler's recommendations will be rather predicable, if you wish to reduce the number of total homicides and violent acts within the city, and then concentrate what resources you already have in the neighborhoods that are currently impacted by violent crime. Don't wish or wait for more resources; use what you got to get the job done. Nevertheless, as simple as this may seem, it will require help from all segments of the city. The police department is only one tool to work on the symptoms of crime; other city departments, governmental agencies, and public & private partnerships, with citizen cooperation, will need to work to continue working on eliminating the root causes of crime. Evoking the Patriot Act is a red herring. The real issue is control; who decides what will be done. It is the essence of politics. Greg Reinhardt Excelsior REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
